Angels Unawares
It gave this nine-year-old choirboy a lot to think about. “Were there really angels showing up disguised as regular folks?” “Could they eat pizza and drink coke like the rest…
Musical Elements
Goosebumps City
Back in July Katherine Ellen Foley, a health and science reporter for Quartz wrote a wonderful article detailing the research and thoughts of Matthew Sachs, a grad student at the…
Moon Tempo
Moon tempo? Allow me to back up a bit, or rather a lot. During the summer of 1969 I performed the role of Henry Kleber, the music teacher of American…
Secrets of Conducting
We know what you’re thinking! Who is “we?” We conductors know what many audience members are thinking when you attend our performances. From your perspective, it looks like a lion…
How Shall We Study Music?
Last week I was given the privilege of speaking at a conference on the campus of Princeton University presented by the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and the Foundation…
Today I watched an episode called “Discover Beethoven’s Fifth”, and it was marvelous! Maestro Maull and his talented orchestra gave me a one-hour thrill. I’ve always loved Beethoven, especially his Fifth Symphony. I studied piano for 7 years as a young person, and came to appreciate so many of the classical composers, but Beethoven’s Fifth has always thrilled me. I so appreciated the format of the program, and the Maestro involved all of us and taught us so much. Thank you for this fine program. And many thanks and praise to the orchestra! When the program ended, I clapped loudly and shouted “Bravo!! Bravo!!!”